Loyalty
by x Ino Fan x
Summary: After a civil war, Ino becomes psychologically unstable and Akatsuki eventually brainwashes her to think she was betrayed, turning her to the dark side against her will. What choices will she make as she becomes a whole new person? [[Itachi x Ino]]
1. Prologue

Loyalty

"Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice."

Woodrow Wilson

---

**Prologue. Spoilers from recent manga chapters mixed in. A lot of this is PURE FICTION ON MY PART. Don't believe all that you read, **_**none**_** of it has happened. 'Tis fanfiction. Anyways, I don't own Naruto, etc. Pairings will depend on what I want. I'm thinking of Deidara/Ino/Itachi but I'm not sure yet. I guess there might be a little Naruto/Sakura too. Depends. Enjoy. **

---

Her nails scraped hard stone as blood dripped from her temple. She was shaking, hard, and she felt salt in her dry mouth as tears mixed with blood.

_They left me...how could they leave me?!__ How long, how long..._She thought, sobs racking her body. The dark had become her best friend, the cold her blanket. It had been long since it had happened...could she even remember what it was? What was it...a battle, she knew that much...was it a war? What is war? Where did she come from? Who is she?!

A door opened. Cold eyes met her own, red burning into her. The same red that had told her things part of her believed, part of her screamed not to. Her body shuddered in pain as she remembered what had happened to her.

What was it he had done? A place...dark...red moon. Torture. Interrogation? What was it!? Why couldn't she remember?! She stared in fury down at the ground.

"They left you to us. They hated you. You're a monster for your skills. We're your only hope for survival. We'll destroy them. We'll be _happy._" Was that what they had told her all along? It was, she knew it. Had her home...Was that what it was called? Home... The word lay on her lips. She looked up at the man, still shaking from the migraine she was developing.

"Who...am I?"

---

Sakura stared out at the field before her, spread out like a blanket of red. Tears fell from her dull eyes, seeing half her village blown apart. This was reality, wasn't it? She couldn't find anyone. All she knew was that Naruto was chasing Sasuke to god-knows-where. And she knew probably only one would limp back to what was left of their lives. 

Was this how it was supposed to end all along? Was this fate, as Neji would put it? She couldn't be last. No. But...

"Sakura..!" Came a pained voice, scratching through her thoughts. Her head flew around, her bloodstained cherry blossom hair floating behind her. 

"Shikamaru?!" She said, her voice full of relief. "You're alive. Oh my god, we're alive." She cried, tears mixing with the blood dried on her face. "Who else?! Is there anyone else?! Ino. Please, she's my best friend." She sobbed, burying her face in her hands. Shikamaru was laying on his back, eyes half closed, his chopped short hair falling over his face. It must have been cut by an enemy.

Civil war...how could Konoha tear itself apart like that? Sakura's tears racked her body, and she hugged herself, shivering.

"Sakura...Ino...She's been captured." His voice came slowly. Her eyes widened and she looked up.

"By Root?!" She cried hysterically. "Why?! She was in Interrogation...why would they need her? Oh my god, she's going to be killed...why her!? Why not me?!" She shrieked, falling to the ground, the dirt pooled with Shikamaru's blood.

"Not Root...towards the end of the battle..." He coughed, blood falling from his face. He weakly wiped it away from his mouth, then let his arm fall limp. "Akatsuki...they were watching all along." He spat with venom.

"Akatsuki?! But, don't they have their own problems?!" She cried, fury lining her voice. "They took Ino?! But why?!" She realized, eyes wide, tears falling even faster than before. "They must have taken more..." She stared behind her, seeing some shinobi rise, spitting out blood, cheering for their bitter victory.

"Only her." He said slowly. "One Akatsuki...Sharingan...only her." He whispered, pain dripping into his voice. Tears were now lining his own eyes. "This life is troublesome...leave me here. Please. Let me join them!" He cried, now hysterical himself.

"Shikamaru! Don't!" She screamed, putting her shaking hands to his chest.

"No! I want to join them! My dad...mom...dead!" He said furiously. Sakura whacked a fist to his head, knocking him out easily with her strength. She then began to heal his cuts. _This...is...fate, huh..._

Suddenly a voice came from far off. "Sakura." It said, carefully. She turned, still healing Shikamaru. Her eyes brightened with new relief.

"Kakashi-sensei!" She cried, seeing him limp over. He kneeled down beside her.

"Naruto is..." He looked at her, calculating how much she already knew. She looked away, new tears in her eyes.

"Naruto and Sasuke...this is the finish, right?" She said, smiling bitterly. "This is the end of Team 7. Only one will come back, right? It's all over. What's the point anymore?!" She said sadly, fists now clenched.

"Akatsuki were spotted ambushing us during our weak point. They took one person from Interrogation—"

"Ino."

"So you know already." Kakashi said, his voice slow and calm. Sakura nodded slowly.

"They'll pay...as soon as we can...Tsunade-shishou will send people for Ino!" She cried. Kakashi closed his eyes in pain, and Sakura blinked at him. "What is it?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"Tsunade is dead...Sakura. Her age finally got to her. She's shortened her lifespan too much." Kakashi said calmly. "As she stated firmly before we found out about Root's intentions...as the last of the sennin...I am Hokage." He said firmly. Sakura looked at him, astonished.

"But...Naruto!" She screamed, narrowing her eyes at him. "How dare you take this away from him! It's his dream, and you don't even care!" She cried, tears racking her body. "You don't believe in him, do you?!" She yelped. Kakashi closed his eyes, understandingly.

"He will obviously be next." He said, staring at her. She blinked.

"If he—" She whispered, choking on the words 'comes back'. Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder and smiled under his mask.

"He'll come back." He said, nodding, as if to assure himself. "And the first thing we need to do is take tolls. Try to heal as many people as you can, but don't tire yourself out. We'll rebuild this part of Konoha...and we'll attack Akatsuki as soon as we become united again."

Sakura's tears lessened, and she looked at the barren wasteland before her.

"What will happen to us?" She asked to no one inparticular, and went off to finish healing as many people as she could.

_Fate...is a bitch._

**A/N: This is the prologue. Regular chapters will be longer. Next one coming soon, thanks for reading, and please review. ;)**


	2. Homecoming

Loyalty

"Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice."

Woodrow Wilson

---

**Three years later.**

---

A kunai bit into the neck of the shinobi opposing her, causing his eyes to fall behind his head as his heartbeat slowed, and he fell to the ground, limp.

Dead. The satisfaction of killing brought a smirk to her lips. "Another one bites the dust." She snickered sarcastically, kicking the man to her side. She picked the kunai out of his neck silently, wiped the blood on her coat, and put it back in her pack. Her short blonde hair waved in the breeze, hitting her eyes. She pushed it back nonchalantly, and straightened her hat.

"Two hundred and forty-three." Came a slow voice. "Impressive for a new jutsu." It said, no praise in the words.

"I try." The girl snickered, throwing a smirk to her comrade.

Uchiha Itachi stared back at the girl that had been part of Akatsuki for three years now.

She had been captured during a civil war in Konoha, Root against the Hokage and her followers. The Hokage had been killed, and now Kakashi the copynin had become the sixth. Not that she knew this of course.

No, she had been captured a young shinobi of only 17, Yamanaka Ino. She had great potential, as they had noticed, seeing as she knew many jutsus related around psychological warfare and 'mind games' as one of the Akatsuki bluntly put it. The Akatsuki had been lessened five years earlier, seeing as many teams had been killed.

"Leader-sama will be pleased with your progress." He said flatly, eyeing her carefully. She closed her eyes, clenched her fists.

"I live to please." Again, the sarcasm.

"He gave you everything. He made you powerful. You should be nothing but grateful." Itachi said without flinching. She snickered.

"Yeah, yeah." She said, waving a hand. "Doesn't mean I can't hate the world for what it's done to me." She said, running back to the 'hideout' which she dubbed as their home.

---

"Oi, Kakashi-sensei!" Came a voice. Kakashi looked up from his desk. _I hate paperwork._ He thought, with an inward sigh. Naruto practically flew into the room. "Sasuke-teme found out something about Akatsuki. C'mon!" He said, excitedly. Kakashi stood up, and couldn't help but smile under his mask. A few days after they had healed everyone that could be saved after the Civil War of Konoha, Naruto had limped back, carrying a very much alive but unconcious Uchiha Sasuke. Sakura had been ecstatic. Naruto had knocked enough sense into Sasuke to make him see that revenge could wait, and that the only team he could defeat Itachi in was Cell 7. Since then, the team had been closer than ever, and Sakura had realized that Naruto was the most trustworthy person she knew, seeing as he kept that promise after so many years. 

The only thing that bothered Sakura was that her best friend, Ino, had disappeared three years ago during the war, captured by the Akatsuki. They thought that she may still be in their custody, alive, or even working with them. She had been working with Team 7 to see if there was any way to break apart the Akatsuki.

"They're in their own civil war." Kakashi had addressed them. "Akatsuki on one side...right now, our priority is to fix the bonds within our own village. Sakura, I understand the importance of your friend. But..." He shook his head silently as she ran out the door and slammed it shut.

Kakashi now followed Naruto into a room. Sasuke was leaning against a table. Sakura was sitting down, scribbling into a notepad. She looked up firmly as the door opened.

"What we know about Akatsuki tells us that they only take special ninja, right? Well, I was reading about Ino's clan, the Yamanaka...and there are forbidden jutsus involving simple killing using their jutsu...it's almost mind-blowing how much power there is in that simple jutsu. Power that only an organization focused on specially skilled ninja would know about." She slammed the scroll to the table. "It talks about forbidden scrolls in a vault underneath the now-abandoned Yamanaka clan house. They're _gone_. They were stolen, it's too specific! If she learns these jutsus...since she's the only one taught with the capacity to use them...she can be _unstoppable_. It's a wonder she never realized it before..." Sakura went on. Kakashi closed his eyes. He thought about it. Yes, the ability to take over one's body was an almost too-powerful one.

"Ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome...Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura's voice bit into his thoughts.

"Hn..." Sasuke almost growled, hanging on to the desk, knuckles turning almost white. "You think she's been _brainwashed_, Sakura?!" He said, disbelievingly.

"Sasuke-kun." She said softly, turning to him. "A person who commonly takes over _minds_ can sometimes lose their own. It's happened to many powerful Yamanakas. They take the memories of others and cast part of theirs away. If no one reminds them, they can lose them forever." She said, closing her eyes. "Ino most likely has been told she's somebody else." She said with despair.

---

The blonde girl stood on the roof of one of the Akatsuki complexes, staring at the sky. She narrowed her eyes. _How could Konoha leave me there to die?! And they protected their precious Sakura-chan…_She thought, punching a nearby wall in fury. In caved in. "Shit." She muttered, then shrugged it off.

"You should aim your anger towards your enemies...Ino." Itachi said slowly.

"Yeah, yeah." She muttered, walking back to the stairs. She suddenly turned to him, no longer glaring.

"And I am grateful." She said softly, and walked back in. He stared at the spot she had been in, and his arm instinctively went to the left side of his chest. _Ah...is a chakra point punctured from earlier? No...why do I feel...sorry...for her?_ He thought, narrowing his eyes. _No matter._ He glared, walking back in.

Ino blinked when she realized the Leader, Pein (though nobody addressed him as this name but his partner, who Ino treated as a sister in a way), was standing right in front of her.

"What brings you to our humble abode?" She asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow in mock surprise. Pein glared.

"Cut the shit, Ino-_chan_." He said. She narrowed her eyes, obvious dislike seeping into her face. He knew she hated it when he called her that. It _almost_ made him smile to see her angry.

"Fine. What kind of mission is it now?" She smirked, almost eager to get a new task. "I've developed a new jutsu with Blue-chan. I tested it today. Two hundred and forty-three in five minutes. New record, yeah!" She grinned. Pein narrowed his eyes. _So, she's gotten even stronger. Soon, she'll be the best one in this place._

"An important scroll is being kept in Konoha. You and Itachi are to retrieve it as soon as you can." He said, handing her mission directions. She stared at him, but it was more like she was staring through him. She seemed lost in thought. He widened his eyes slightly.

"Ino!" He snapped, glaring. She blinked, looking slightly pained.

"Yeah, got it. I'll be...training." She said, walking towards the training grounds. Itachi appeared behind her, looking furiously at Pein.

"Do you wish to make her fight the people she's lost in her life?" He asked, though in his monotone voice it sounded more like a statement than a question. Pein closed his eyes calmly.

"Our leader demands that we become more powerful. Once she learns the forbidden jutsus from her clan, she'll be a completely _ruthless_ killer. She'll be the best one on this team. Even more powerful than us. And she doesn't even have a bloodline jutsu." He said, narrowing his eyes at Itachi.

"One voice, one piece of her past, and she becomes the girl she was once more." Itachi said coldly. "One more hit and she breaks. Her mind is too fragile for this mission. Get someone else to retrieve it." Itachi stated firmly. Pein smirked.

"You're the best team. You're the only ones that _can_ do it, sadly. You'll have to make sure she doesn't 'break', Itachi. It's your part of the mission. _You are dismissed._" Pein said, and in a flash, he was gone.

"Damn it." Itachi said, fuming solemnly. Ino looked over at him, and he suddenly noticed her standing in the corner, glaring. The red eyeliner she was using was making the fire in her eyes even more apparent, Itachi figured.

"You're trying to keep me from my enemies? What kind of villain _are_ you?" She asked frankly. He glared at her coolly. She was developing some of Pein's partner's sarcasm and cold solemnity. What was her name again? No matter.

She sneered, making her nose ring quiver. She had changed a lot in three years, not only in power, but appearance. She had developed a dangerous looking style, piercings in her nose and eyebrows, and a blood red smile. She had left behind most of her vanity, chopping her hair short the month she came out of the room she had been held captive, being told she was forgotten by her village, that this way peace would come to their world. That they could _save_ the world, not destroy it. She had been lied to this whole time, and it almost disgusted him that she had believed every word. _Her mind is too weak where her power is not._ He thought, narrowing his eyes.

She had been his partner for the three years, ever since she left her room a person hating the world and ashamed of her past. The first thing she had said to him was 'You look like him. And I despise it.' And with that she had walked away from him. He had almost killed her on the spot, if not for Kisame shaking his head slowly. She had been made his partner the next day, and they had hated each other until the day that he jumped in front of a katana for her. His blood had falled onto her helpless body, and when she asked him why he did it, he told her that it was his job to keep her alive. But she had never said a disrespectful thing to him after that, even if she could have a quick tongue and a fiery temper.

"They'll just try to bring you back. Do you wish to return?" He asked carefully. She glared, although he thought he saw pain behind the anger in her clear blue eyes.

"You think I would return to the people who left me to die out there, who saved someone like _Haruno Sakura_ before me?! When I can be as powerful as the most skilled ninja in that village by training here?" She laughed, but it was a bitter one, that hid depression deep underneath it. "I'm not that stupid, Itachi." She said, passing him to go into her room.

Itachi stared after her, then turned to go outside. He needed to plan a careful way of doing this.

---

"So, you've got it all planned, ne?" She asked, adjusting her straw hat.

"You're to use your Shinranshin no Jutsu to buy time if we are thoroughly opposed. If we can slip in and out easily, this will go much better." He said firmly. "Don't let your temper get the best of you." He said, turning to her. She scowled.

"Yeah, yeah." Was all she said, although he was sure she was cursing him in her head. If their skills didn't complement each other as they did, he would think it was hell being put with someone like her.

Suddenly, they could see gates over the trees they were jumping through silently. He watched her carefully, her smirk turn to a pained look, her mouth opening as if she wanted to say something, yet no words came.

"We're here." He said slowly. She closed her eyes, breathed in carefully as they came to a stop.

"Showtime."

---

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. The next part will be out soon. Thanks! **


	3. Reunion

Loyalty

"Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice."

Woodrow Wilson

---

**Spoilers for the NEWEST manga chapters. Turn back if you don't want to be spoiled.**

---

"Remember your past. They abandoned you. _Hold no mercy._" Itachi's words surprised her. She smirked, the red eye shadow on her face making her narrowed eyes even more apparent.

The day before, Itachi had caught her in her room shaking with fury as she brought a kunai up to her short hair ponytailed up. Her eyes were flashing as if crazed, and she cut up through the ponytail, hair flying through the air. She then collected the hair up from the floor carefully, feeling the pieces in her hands. He could have sworn he saw tears on her face.

"What are you doing?" Itachi asked firmly, opening the door, she turned around wildly, and he could of sword she had a killing intent about her, a wild power that she could have unleashed right there. But, strangely enough, she seemed to calm down in a few seconds.

"Oh. You." Was all she said, and then went back to fixing her hair. He had been horribly surprised at her reaction. Most people would scream on the spot if they saw that it was Itachi confronting them. But Ino seemed to be relieved that it was him, and maybe not someone else? Was she...not _afraid_ of him?! No. She must just been deep in thought, and must have snapped back at the sight of someone else.

"Showing mercy isn't my style." She said venomously. Itachi smirked. _She seems determined today. Hopefully she knows the meaning of stealth though. If we attract one person, we end up fighting. Maybe she really wants revenge?_

Ino's eyes were fixed on the gates of Konoha. "Sure brings back _memories_." She spat. He saw her fists clenched and her knuckles turning white.

"Don't let your temper get in the way of the mission." Itachi said curtly. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm no idiot, Itachi-_kun_." She sneered. He narrowed his eyes at her but said nothing.

"I could kill you if I so wished, so I would keep _idiotic_ words to yourself, Ino-_chan_." He said smoothly. She glared ferociously but said nothing. "Remember the_ plan._" Itachi said carefully. "We _sneak _in. No conversing with your old friends." She cringed at this, and he knew he had hit a nerve. "If you are seen, _we kill whoever saw you in an orderly fashion so we are not discovered_. Are we clear?" She smirked.

"Sounds fun." She said with a snicker. Itachi then took off around the gates, so fast that she only saw short flickers of him. Ino stepped lightly with her chakra barely causing her feet to make a sound. _Konan-sensei taught me never to cause attention to myself. I won't let her down. _Ino though proudly.

---

Shikamaru knocked on the door of the Hokage's office. "Kakashi-sama." He said slowly. Kakashi looked up from a certain orange book, blinking.

"Hm?" He said, widening his one showing eye at Shikamaru slowly. "What is it?"

"Some ANBU have found traces of Akatsuki in the area. Two, traveling in a team. Their path stopped short at the gates. They're searching the village now." He said carefully. Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

"Send as many squads as are free to help. We need them found, fast. Also, call Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke to my office. That's all." Kakashi said, dismissing him.

"Hai." Shikamaru said, and walked out the door to carry out the orders.

Fifteen minutes later, Sakura burst into the room, followed by Naruto and Sasuke. Sakura slammed her hands onto his desk.

"Let me lead the search! They'll have information on Ino." She said frantically, eyes flashing. Kakashi closed his eyes calmly.

"You know I can't do that, Sakura. You're a medical ninja, not ANBU." He replied. Naruto looked at Sakura, knowing she would explode at Kakashi in a second.

"Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei is right. Let the ANBU find them, then you can help interrogate them. We can't afford to lose you."

"But you can afford to lose ANBU?!" Sakura almost shrieked. Kakashi sighed.

"You are all dismissed until ANBU comes back with a second report. Do you understand me? _Sakura_?" He said, staring at her hardly. Sakura gave him a furious glare and stomped out, punching the door on her way out.

A large, gaping hole now appeared in the wall. Kakashi was sure he saw Sasuke twitch at this. Naruto sighed.

"Third one this month, ne, Kakashi-sensei?"

---

Ino suddenly appeared in front of Itachi, stopping him with an outstretched arm silently. She raised her right hand, making a fist.

_That gesture...good, just as we planned. This is her old home._ Itachi thought, nodding slowly at her. She closed her eyes, and opened them, a new determinedness in them. Suddenly, a kunai flew past her eyes, landing in the wall beside the roof they were standing on. Her eyes widened, and flew back to Itachi, who had jumped back and activated his Sharingan in a few seconds. Suddenly, the wall exploded. Ino gasped and flipped out of the way, inches from certain explosion.

"Shit.." She murmured, turning to where the kunai came from.

There stood a smirking brown haired girl, twirling a kunai like it was a plaything. "Nice shot, Tenten!" Cried an overenthusiastic-as-usual Rock Lee. She shrugged, obviously smug about it.

"It was nothing special. Lee, alert Kakashi-sama immediately! We'll need backup." She said, taking out a scroll. Ino smirked. Lee looked at her in horror.

"The other pairs of ANBU are at least 15 minutes away, Tenten! I can't leave you to fight them alone!" He exclaimed. Tenten turned to him, eyes full of pain.

"If this keeps them from moving farther until they get here, I'll gladly give my life for my village." She whispered so only he would hear. He widened his eyes.

"No!" He whispered, shaking his head firmly. "I shall fight for our youth!" He cried, giving her a thumbs up. She smiled sadly.

"Guess our plan is being thwarted, ne? Too bad. And yet—what a perfect chance to test my skills." Ino smirked. She took out a kunai and flung it at Tenten. Tenten laughed, dodging it easily.

"Pretty basic for an S-class missingnin, don't you think?" Tenten smirked, running her hand across the scroll.

Suddenly she fell forward. "W-what?!" She cried, looking around for the strange force that caused her to do so. The scroll rolled off the roof. Ino smirked under her hat, the bells jingling.

"You underestimate me. How _sad_." Ino said with a sigh. She pulled at what was now revealed to be a wire, covered in chakra. Tenten's feet were tied with it. Lee gasped.

"Tenten!" He cried, pulling at the strings to no avail.

"Now, let's get this over with." Ino said, then thew her arms out to make the seal of her 'Shintenshin', then flipped it, and brought it back down her chest.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu: Inversion!" She cried, and aimed for Tenten. Her head went down, and Itachi narrowed his eyes.

_We could have ended this easily. Is this some sort of jab at revenge?_

Ino suddenly got up, head bowed down. Surprisingly, Tenten did the same. Lee gasped, blinking.

"T-tenten?!" He asked, gaping at her. Ino smirked, causing Tenten's to also, although her eyes portrayed fear rather than the conceited look Ino's held.

"Well, well. Guess the Shintenshin was a success. And yet, I'm not surprised!" She said in faux shock. Tenten's voice chimed in to join hers, although Tenten's sounded hoarse, as if she was fighting her tongue and losing. Tenten's eyes narrowed, and Lee wasn't sure whether it was in pain or fury.

"Now, Lee-senpai, won't you please let me enter my house? You wouldn't want poor Tenten-senpai to meet an _untimely demise_, would you?" Ino said with a cold grin. Tenten's voice gagged on the words 'untimely demise'. Itachi narrowed his eyes.

"You're not following the plan." He said a tad angrily, although his montone voice sounded emotionless as always.

"H-how do you know our names?!" Lee asked, then realized his question was stupid. Akatsuki knew many things. Then, it dawned on him.

_The shintenshin...the Chuunin exams, so many years ago, with Sakura-san. It's a Yamanaka technique. Could that Akatsuki be..._

Ino reached to her left thigh, where she saw Tenten's kunai were. She fingered until she saw Tenten grasp one. She brought her hand up to her throat, as if holding a kunai, although she held nothing. She kept her kunai in an unlikely place just for this type of technique. _I'll feel the pain but have no cut. I've mastered the Shintenshin, at last._ Ino thought, narrowing her eyes.

"Either you two say you saw _nothing_ when the ANBU get here, that it was a mistake, or the kunoichi dies. Got it?" She said, Tenten's voice joining hers. Tenten was obviously struggling—it was all in her expression, but she didn't have the strong will that Sakura had had in the Chuunin exams.

"You'll run out of chakra. End this quickly before your Shintenshion fails." Itachi said in a monotone voice, scowling. Ino glared.

"Can't you see I'm busy striking a deal? This will make it much easier to achieve the mission!" She hissed, Tenten's voice doing the same. Lee gasped.

"You wouldn't kill Tenten...Ino-san!" He cried, pointing accusingly at Ino, who sighed, shrugging. She took off her hat with a flourish, revealing the face Lee had seen so many years ago, yet with a maniacal twist, the makeup making her eyes look dangerous, not tranquil.

"Who says I wouldn't?" She said, and brought the kunai closer to her neck, eyes narrowing. "So...do we have a deal?"

---

Sakura bolted around the village, looking for any kind of activity. Suddenly, she saw something up in the roofs, and gasped. A black cloak with red cloads shuddered in the wind.

"Akatsuki." She breathed, and jolted up to the rooftop, just in time to see Tenten fall off the roof, followed by a horrified Lee. She gasped as they both fell to the ground, Tenten rolling besides Lee, both unconscious.

"A bad decision. What a pity." Ino sighed. Sakura blinked, eyes widening as she turned towards the voice, knees weakening as she stood on the edge of the roof.

"No...no." She whispered as she saw the source of the voice. Itachi narrowed his eyes as Ino smirked, her lips turning up at the corners into a furious smirk.

"Well, well. My _best friend forever_, Sakura. How has life treated you? Sasuke-_kun_ is yours, I presume? And you're finally happy in your life? I'm glad. You'll die happy!" Ino laughed bitterly.

"I-Ino. No. It isn't you!" Sakura said, denial seeping into her mind. _This isn't Ino. Ino hates red. It makes her think of blood. She would never get a piercing, let alone two...No. This isn't Ino._

"Sakura!"

"Sakura-chan!" Two voices startled her as she realized that Naruto and Sasuke were behind her. She heard the gasps as they looked up at Ino. Ino sighed.

"Oh, _wonderful_, a rookie reunion. Come on, Itachi. We have to finish what we started now, ne?" She smirked, bringing her hands up to make a seal.

"Itachi..." Sasuke said, his eyes turning red with the Sharingan. "It's time for you to die." He cried, running at him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto said, grabbing Sasuke. He glared at him, furious. "This is no time to take out your revenge on a whim! We need a plan first, baka!"

Ino turned to Itachi with a sigh. "Guessing we're taking plan B, ne?" She said nonchalantly. Itachi narrowed his eyes, and made a quick seal. In a second they were off, while everyone else braced themselves. Naruto gasped.

"They...tricked us into getting ready to fight?! WHAT A LAME THING TO DO!" He cried furiously. Sakura stared after Ino in a daze. Sasuke began to run, but not knowing where they were, he stopped, trying to look around with his Sharingan.

"They're...too fast." He said, his knuckles turning white from his tight fists.

"Sasuke..." Sakura said, looking at him, suddenly concerned. Itachi might be the thing that drove him off the edge. He still wasn't totally calmed from his childhood and long time spent with Orochimaru training. "We'll get them! Don't worry..." She said, finding it hard to convince herself.

"Sakura-chan...that was Ino." Naruto said, choking on his words. "That was _Ino_. Would Ino really...do _that_?" He asked, finding it hard to find the right words.

"I need to find Kakashi-sensei." Sakura said frantically, and ran towards the Hokage's tower. Sasuke was on his knees, clutching a kunai.

"Itachi..." He muttered, venom filling his words.

"Sasuke-teme. He's gone. We've gotta deal with this. Get up." Naruto said harshly, automatically regretting his words. Sasuke looked at him with fury written all over his face, then it faded. He suddenly pushed past Naruto, who sighed and chased after him.

---

Once back at the Akatsuki's headquarters, Itachi furiously turned to Ino, dark eyes flashing.

"You've made everything harder than it had to be. You let your emotions run wild and now everyone knows you're with us. Is this your idea of fun?" He said, his words cutting like a knife. Ino glared at him.

"You think it's fun for me to see the people who betrayed me...who I thought were my friends?!" Ino screamed at him, and ran past him. He almost blinked when he saw what he thought were tears streaming from her face. He narrowed his eyes.

"Ino..."

**A/N: SORRY FOR BEING GONE SO LONG LOL. Here ya are. EDIT: Fixed Tsunade into Kakashi. Sorry. ;**


	4. Revelations

Loyalty

"Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice."

Woodrow Wilson

---

**Spoilers for the NEWEST manga chapters. Turn back if you don't want to be spoiled.**

---

Ino was on her knees in her room, clutching her hair, eyes wide. Memories and recollections of her past flashed across her mind in wild pieces.

"_Rivals...from now on..."_

"_Time to surpass you..."_

"_Sasuke-kun is gone..."_

"_Help! Please!"_

The last was a recollection of that day...the day that the Akatsuki saved her from dying on that bloody field. _They're liars...murderers. They only care about their golden shinobi...Naruto, Sakura, it's always been like that, hasn't it? And no one else even notices, do they?! They'll die. I'll make them all pay!_ Ino clenched her fists tightly.

---

**3 Years Ago.**

Ino's hands fumbled for a kunai, finding none. Her throat was dry, blood flowing from her temple. She slipped in a puddle of red muck, and fell to her knees. Her eyes winced, blood causing her vision to turn red. "Sakura!" She cried out hoarsely. No one. Nothing. Her heart beat a little faster.

"S-shikamaru??" Her voice reached the air again, shaking a little more nervously than before. Nothing. The wind blew through the trees, and the shinobi who had cut her temple and neck had probably left, thinking she'd die eventually. She turned around, wiping the blood out of her eyes. _I can do this. I'll live to tell the tale of how we won!_ She thought, determined.

The sight before her wasn't what she expected. Dead bodies lay everywhere, seeming to run for miles. She gasped, suddenly feeling sick. The feeling got worse when she narrowed her eyes, trying to focus on an image a ways away from her. Her eyes widened in recognition.

"No...no..." She murmured, her words hoarse and cold. "D...DAD?!" Her voice became shriek with crazed shock. She crawled as quickly as she could over the dead shinobi and threw herself onto her parents' bodies. "NOOOO!!!!!" She screamed, clutching at them. Tears fell down her face like a waterfall as she sobbed for her fallen parents.

She soon felt her eyes roll back, and she fell unconscious as the blood burned her eyes. The horrible world around her faded to black.

---

**Present time.**

Ino's eyes began tearing, causing her makeup to smudge all over her face. She furiously rubbed at it with a spare piece of bandage by her sleeping mat. It came off easily, the tears washing the red off of her eyelids. She clutched her chest, sobs racking her lungs.

Much as she tried, she still couldn't hide her emotions too well. They seemed to be one of her only weaknesses. Suddenly, the door cracked open.

Red eyes stared into the darkness. She turned furiously. "Leave me alone!" She hissed, then realized that she sounded childish, and felt her face turn red. "I just want to be left alone." She said angrily, turned back, staring at the floor.

Itachi blinked emotionlessly. "I'm authorized to stay with you when your emotions take over in case you take...drastic measures." Itachi said, remembering Pein's words a few years ago.

"_The Yamanaka's mental state is questionable, as you may know about what their techniques do to their minds. If something happens that takes her back...or causes her to show complete distress...you are to stay with her until she's safe. She's an important part of our...mission." Pein had said, narrowing his eyes. Itachi nodded coldly._

"You think you can keep me sane?! What a _joke_. You're _psychotic_, if I remember correctly."

Her words caused his eyes to flare red for a moment, but then he realized it was her temper speaking. "You know nothing." He said, narrowing his eyes.

Ino laughed bitterly. "Oh, yeah. Coming from the guy who doesn't know how it feels to be betrayed by everyone who you'd ever gotten close to. That's right, because YOU'RE the betrayer here! How do you _sleep_ at night?" She said viciously, staring him in the eye.

Itachi's eyes opened furiously, and in a moment Ino was up against the wall, Itachi trapping her between his arms. "You. Know. _Nothing_." Was all he said, and she could feel the cold breath on her neck. She shook in fear.

The door opened with a bang. Spiraled eyes stared at them, one eyebrow raised. Itachi turned around angrily, and Ino slid down the wall, letting out a breath of relief. Never had she been more grateful for being intruded on.

"Seeing as your mission was a failure and the scroll was not obtained, Konan got it herself. Obviously you need more training in stealth. Ino, you'll work on your stealth with Konan later until you learn how to stay calm in reconnaissance missions." He said, his words biting. She winced, as if she had been slapped.

"My apologies, Pein-sama." She said, grimacing.

He went on. "Itachi, it is your job to monitor Ino's training with this new technique." He said, throwing a scroll to the ground. Itachi walked over slowly and picked it up. Pein closed the door without another word.

Itachi opened the scroll carefully. _Shintenshin no Jutsu: Complete Overpowering._

Suddenly, the scroll fell to the floor, pages fluttering as it fell. Itachi made a noise as if in intense pain, and fell to the ground, clutching his head, eyes wide.

Ino blinked, and ran to his side without a word. "What's wrong?!" She asked immediately. He fell to his hands and knees, gasping for air. She grabbed the scroll, and stared at it.

One name was written on it.

_Uchiha Shisui._

**A/N: OHNOES, TWIST! Sorry for not updating faster, and this being short. NEXT ONE WILL BE MUCH LONGER, PROMISE! DX**


	5. Truth

Loyalty

"Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice."

Woodrow Wilson

---

**Spoilers for the NEWEST manga chapters. Turn back if you don't want to be spoiled.**

---

Ino stared in shock at the scroll before her, disbelieving. "This isn't real." She laughed nervously. "This is my family's scroll. Why would there be an Uchiha name on it? This is a joke." She said, shaking her head. "Pein-sama's trying to get to us."

Itachi was still grasping his head, hair covering his eyes. "Leave..." was all he hissed, and she widened her eyes.

"I told you, it's not real!" she cried, her voice rising with denial. "Besides, how did Konan-sensei get it so fast, before us? They obviously couldn't have gotten it that—"

"So it was their plan all along then." his voice cut her off. She whipped her head around at the sound of his voice, steady but pained.

"What?" she asked, not understanding his words.

"We were sent to fail, if you can understand me." he said, his voice sarcastic. "They sent us to let Konoha know that you were still alive and with us. There was no scroll in the first place. _Pein had it all along_." he spat. She widened her eyes.

"But why would they do that? And how do you know about this in the first place..." she asked, staring into his eyes. Despite others wincing away when the older Uchiha stared them straight on, Ino was one of the only ones that could look into his eyes and not flinch or stare away. He didn't understand why, but she had never been too afraid of him.

This time, he looked away. She waited for his words, but none came. She narrowed her eyes.

"You know something about my family's scroll. It's my right to know." she said coldly. She knew when to be kind and when to be demanding and cruel, even to her partner, the murderer of his entire clan.

If there was one thing Ino was, it was unafraid of anyone. She had learned to let all her fears go. Maybe it was the secret of her terrible power, but she took risks without thinking and she always won. She even stood up to her betters in Akatsuki on a daily basis. Surprisingly, she usually got her way.

Itachi pushed himself off the ground, and she got up also. Narrowing her eyes, she sorted through her thoughts. _Shisui...when have I heard that before..._ She thought, shaking her head slowly.

Then it hit her. Memories flooded her head, like they usually did. Being a mind-jutsu based kunoichi, her memories were fragile and her emotions could run wild if she used her chakra to enter peoples' minds too often, as she usually did.

---

**Flashback to when Ino's Childhood**

Ino's short blond hair was plastered to her face, the rain causing her to become soaking wet. She walked into her house, tired. "I'm home, Mom." her voice rang out into her home's halls.

Her mother was in the living room wearing a grim face. Ino sensed something was wrong. "What's wrong?" she asked. Her mother sighed, and put her hand on Ino's wet head.

"I've received news that the Uchihas have been killed from your father. All but that one boy, your age...Sasuke." Her mother said, giving her a hug. "Oh, things _had_ been suspicious since Uchiha Shisui's so-called suicide...they say Itachi did it. It's clear, now. Itachi killed his clan. Oh, it's so sad..." her mother's voice trailed off. Ino looked up at her mother in shock.

"Sasuke...-kun's...family?" She whispered, horrified.

---

Ino clutched her head, grunting as she fell back onto her knees, her knees suddenly weak. Now it was Itachi that turned to her, albeit coldly.

"Don't die." Was all he said as he left the room, closing the door. Ino would have laughed if she couldn't have seen that it was actually a risk for her after a painful memory.

She remembered Sakura's petrified face from the mission. Like she had seen a ghost.

Like she had been..._betrayed_.

---

The night came too fast. Sakura walked into the Hokage's office, eyes dark, her body stiff. Sasuke was sitting in his lonely room in the Uchiha residence, and Naruto was at home, thinking. Was she the only one that cared anymore?

Maybe her life fell apart after that war. Maybe everyone died a little bit, but they were getting by. Kakashi was Hokage, but she could tell this wasn't exactly what he wanted. Naruto wanted it so badly, and she knew it hurt him every time to see Kakashi taking control over the village. Sasuke had left behind revenge after he and Naruto had battled that fateful day, but she knew it was still killing him inside every time he thought about what time he had wasted. And here she was—losing it because her friend, Ino, who had done so much that she had taken for granted...was part of an evil organization bent on destroying all other villages.

Who would have thought things would end up like this, right? She remembered how she used to picture her future. Naruto would bring Sasuke home easily, without a fight. He would realize his love for her, and they would revive his clan, of course. She would have kids. Naruto would be Hokage, and realize he didn't love her, and find another girl. And where would Ino be?

Sakura suddenly realized that she had never thought about that. Again, the pain hit her. She never thought about her friend after Sasuke came into the picture. It was all about him.

She realized her vision of the future was childish, selfish. It would never happen.

And yet, she couldn't let go of it. Not yet. It hurt too much.

She looked up at Kakashi. He met her gaze stiffly.

"Sakura..." he began carefully. She shook her head.

"Don't try to tell me what I want to hear. It's fine. I know...Ino's a criminal now. She's in the bingo book, right?" She let out a fake laugh, and tears threatened to fall. "Did you know I let her down? And all for Sasuke too. It's so stupid, looking back...I was stupid. And somehow...I feel like I haven't changed. Like maybe I wanted her out of the picture. But now...we've got to get her back. It's not her fault! She doesn't remember...or she doesn't realize...I'd do anything to make everything right!" Sakura cried, tears falling now. "That stupid war ruined everything, didn't it? If I had been by Ino when she fell, she wouldn't have disappeared. I was too worried about Naruto...and Sasuke...and I never thought about it. It's my fault, isn't it?!" She cried, falling to her knees, sobs wracking her body.

Kakashi looked at her sadly. "Don't blame anything on yourself. What's happened has happened." Was all he said, slowly. The door creaked open, and she jumped to her feet, furiously wiping at her eyes.

Naruto stepped in silently. Sakura blinked in surprise. "Weren't you supposed to be—"

"Couldn't sleep." Was his only response. Sakura mouthed an 'oh' in understanding, and the three stared at each other in silence for a long time, before the door opened again.

Sasuke walked in, eyes dark. Sakura widened her eyes in surprise, and Naruto smirked. "Couldn't sleep either?" he asked with a laugh, which came out nervously.

Sasuke just closed his eyes. "I apologize for the way I acted." He said stiffly. Sakura looked over at him sadly, and Naruto looked down at the ground.

"Your revenge will come at the right time." Naruto said quietly. Sakura closed her own eyes, painful memories of Team 7's past entering her mind.

"You all should sleep." Kakashi said finally, breaking the silence. Naruto laughed, his usual optimism seeping back into his voice. 

"We're not kids anymore, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said with a smirk. Sasuke looked at him with his own smirk.

"You always will be a kid inside, dobe." Sasuke said, while Naruto glared.

"Sasuke-teme...!" He answered, and punched him on the should with a laugh. Sakura smiled genuinely. This was the reason she could be happy. Team 7 was whole again, no matter what happened. But still...

"Okay, I'll head home." Sakura said finally. "Good night, Kakashi-sensei...Naruto...Sasuke." She said with a small smile. She closed the door, and began walking to her house. The cold air brushed her cheeks, and she looked up at the Hokage's Mountain.

"Tsunade-shishou...I wish you were here to help us..." Sakura sighed.

---

Itachi eventually entered the room, and sat on the mat he slept on. Ino's was in the other corner of the room. He had to keep an eye on her in the night, also, by Pein's orders. She had frequent nightmares that drove her off the edge often.

Ino turned to him coldly.

"Why is Shisui's name on my family's scroll? You killed him. You know something that I don't." She said furiously. Itachi clenched his fists silently.

"It's none of your concern. You're just an _idiotic girl._" He said, his voice like a knife. Her eyes burned with unshed tears. _Damn emotions..._ She thought, blinking her eyes until the tears were stopped.

"If you don't tell me..." She said, matching his own cold voice easily. Practice makes perfect.

"What will you do? _Hit me?_" He asked with a snarl, his crimson eyes meeting hers. She got up furiously, running over to him.

In a second, her foot met his hands, inches in front of his face. She threw a quick punch, which met his other hand. He met her eyes, a crazed look on his face.

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into, _kunoichi_." He said, narrowing his eyes at her.

"I'm already in too deep, aren't I?! It's not like I'll ever truly be _Yamanaka Ino_ again. I'm not just a kunoichi. I have enough power to kill hundreds in one jutsu." She said frankly.

"Which is why if I show you more power, you'll break." He said viciously.

"This isn't about my power. This about why an Uchiha's name is on a Yamanaka scroll!" She practically shrieked, eyes wild. Itachi closed his eyes calmly, letting go of her. She sat down, waiting.

"You wouldn't understand such complicated things." He said solemnly.

"Try me." She snarled. He opened his eyes, raised an eyebrow, took a breath. When he turned to look at her, she saw no anger in his eyes, but a kind of pain that took her breath away.

Uchiha Itachi looked...weak.

"Uchiha Shisui's name is on that scroll because he stole it from your father long ago." Itachi said frankly. Seeing her too shocked to speak, he went on. "To make such a long story short...he was mad with power. He was my friend. And he told me his plans to eliminate the Uchiha clan...all except for myself and he. We would take over Konoha...all the villages. He told me it was what Madara had wanted all along. Myself, being the young, rising genius that I was..." He trailed off, closing his eyes, and looked at her again. Her face was stiff, her eyes studying him. "I told him no. Never, in fact. My family was important to me, even though I acted as though they didn't matter to me. Sasuke...I made a mistake. That has cost me everything." He said, his head falling into his hands. Despite his obvious pain at the memories, he went on. "Shisui was furious, of course. He told me he didn't need me. And he left. Being oblivious was my first mistake. I didn't think he would take drastic measures. But I knew too much. I had refused him. That's when he did it." He paused again, and closed his eyes slowly.

"Did what..." Ino whispered, staring at him. He opened his eyes, crimson seeping into them in fury.

"He used the Shintenshin no Jutsu: Complete Overpowering on me. It's the ultimate mind technique. It takes over the body for an infinite amount of time, transferring your chakra to the body of your target with only enough in your real body to keep you alive. You could stay in that person's body forever. But...the person you take over sees through your eyes, but can do nothing."

Ino widened her eyes in complete shock.

"No...that means..."

"Shisui killed the clan in my body." He said hoarsely, and turned away furiously.

---

**A/N: Sorry it took so long to update! TT**


	6. Secrets

Loyalty

"Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice."

Woodrow Wilson

---

**Spoilers for the NEWEST manga chapters. Turn back if you don't want to be spoiled.**

---

Ino shook her head and laughed nervously. "You're lying." Was her first reaction. "You're _lying_." She said again, as if to convince herself. "Shisui was _dead_. Besides, why would he want his own clan dead? Oh wait...because he didn't! Because _you_ killed them!"

Itachi turned to her, fury written all over his usually emotionless face. "This is why it doesn't concern people like you what really happened. This was his plan all along, of course. I should've seen what he would do. I should have seen what would have happened..."

"Shisui died before the massacre. Care to explain?" She asked coldly. He smirked, eyes closed tightly.

"Shisui had excellent planning. You probably remember what happens with a failed clone, correct?" He asked, not looking up. Ino nodded.

"Yeah." She answered, thinking back to Naruto's failed test in the academy. "It looks sickly, or even..." Her voice trailed off, eyes widening. "No way...you mean that..." 

"Dead. It looks _dead_." He said softly. "Shisui was so talented that he made it look as thought it was a dead body. I had thought he had fled, thinking I would turn the clan on him. It turns out he was watching me the whole time." He paused again. Ino widened her eyes even further.

"This is...but you told Sasuke..."

"What was I supposed to do?! Tell them the truth?! Do you think they would have _actually_ believed it wasn't me?"

"I..." Ino's eyes closed slightly. "I'm...so...sorry." She whispered quietly.

"I'm a criminal. I've become what Shisui wanted me to become."

"But I don't understand..! Why would Shisui want to kill the clan? It doesn't make any sense..."

"Shisui's power got the best of him." Was all Itachi said, simply. "When in my body, he killed his real body during the massacre, therefore causing his to leave mine. I wasn't able to get up from where I fell for a long time, but I knew Sasuke would discover me if I stayed. Shisui had told him the things about hatred, and I wasn't about to go back and tell him to disregard it. So I left. Eventually, I learned that Shisui was part of Akatsuki, and he had wanted me to join all along." He finished.

Ino felt tears come to her eyes. "It's all wrong. You could be Konoha. Sasuke could be happy. I could be...home..." She whispered, shaking her head.

"It's no use thinking of what could have been." He said solemnly, and sat against the wall, holding his head. Ino looked at him, surprised. She had never seen him sad, let alone heard him open up.

"Am I the only one that knows?" She asked finally, after a few silent minutes.

The answer came after another few minutes.

"Yes." He said finally. Ino blinked a few times.

"Why...me?" She asked finally. At this he smirked, and she glowered. She hated it when he did that. Suddenly, his hand was on her cheek. Her face burned.

"You _interest_ me, to say the least." And his lips met hers.

---

The next day, Sakura woke up exhausted and sore. She groaned and got up. 

Once she was dressed, she ran down the stairs and opened the door to reveal Naruto about to knock. He beamed.

"Sakura-chan!" He exclaimed. "Good, I didn't wake you up."

"Is something wrong?!" She asked, widening her eyes and glancing around.

"No, no!" Naruto cried, shaking his hands. "I was just wondering if you, ah, wanted to go..." His face turned slightly red in a blush, "if you wanted to get breakfast with me!" He grinned and gave her a thumbs-up.

Sakura smiled sincerely. "You know, that doesn't sound half-bad." She said happily. Naruto looked so surprised that it made her laugh. "But you're paying. _And it better not be ramen_." She said, her left eye twitching slightly at the thought. It was a wonder Naruto never got tired of the stuff.

"So...do you feel okay?" Naruto said, trying at small talk. Sakura grinned sincerely.

"Yeah. Thanks, Naruto. This is...nice." She said, closing her eyes and feeling the light breeze on her face. Naruto blushed again.

"A..anytime, Sakura-chan!" He said with another grin. "I just want you to be happy..." His voice trailed off as she looked at him in a large smile.

"Baka, your smile can make _anyone_ happy, remember? Even Sasuke." She laughed. He blushed again and grinned. They walked into a restaurant.

"Is barbeque okay?" Naruto asked, turning to her. She nodded her head.

"Thanks." She said with a sigh of relief. _No Ramen today! Score!_ Her inner self boasted.

"Hey, Sakura! Naruto!" Came a voice. Shikamaru and Chouji were eating in a booth.

"Shikamaru! Chouji!" Naruto waved at them. They both walked over.

"What's up?" Shikamaru asked. "You two finally on a date?" He teased Naruto.

Sakura shook her hands. "Of course not!" She said obliviously. Naruto sighed.

"Sakura-chaaaaaaaaaaaan." He whined. Chouji laughed.

Sakura smiled. _Maybe things will get better..._ She thought happily.

**A/N: Sorry, but I just wanted to post something because I have a lot of work for the next few weeks! Hopefully I'll get another out soon. Thanks! .**


	7. Lonely

Loyalty

"Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice."

Woodrow Wilson

---

**Spoilers for the NEWEST manga chapters. Turn back if you don't want to be spoiled.**

---

It was the best and worst moment of her life.

Memories flooded back to her, that one time when Sakura and she had been talking about who would steal their first kiss when they were older. Sakura had blushed and said she had someone in mind, and Ino had boasted that she would kiss an Uchiha one day, making Sakura look up at her sadly.

How ironic it was that she _was_ kissing an Uchiha, but not the one she had _planned_ to. She wondered if Sakura was really in a relationship with Sasuke now that he was obviously back in Konoha.

She was too deep in her thoughts to realize that his hand was running through her hair, that his lips were pressing harder. She put her arms around his neck willingly, closing her eyes.

Suddenly something cold ran in his eyes, and in a second he had hit her head and she crashed to the floor. She gasped, looking up at him. He stood up slowly, eyes burning red.

"You know too much." Came his monotone voice. Ino's eyes widened. _Is he serious?_ She thought with a shiver down her spine. She backed up, wiping blood from her mouth.

"Itachi..." She whispered, shaking. About to make a seal, she was one ahead of him.

"Shintenshin no Jutsu: Inversion!" She shrieked desperately. Her body went stiff, as did Itachi's. He looked at her fiercely, making her actions copy his for both bodies.

"What...do...you...think—" Came both of their voices, although this time Ino's unwillingly.

"Release!" Cried both the bodies, and they fell to the ground. Ino's eyes blinked open a few moments later, seeing as she had more immunity to her own jutsu. Itachi's eyes were closed, his hair covering his face. She looked at him, concerned. He almost looked dead, his pale face displaying a peaceful look, his dark hair lightly covering his eyes. She felt her eyes tear up and she blinked, surprised, angry at her softness. _He just tried to kill me. He could have killed me...but before that..._

Before she knew it, her eyes had closed and welcomed the darkness.

---

Sasuke sat in his empty room, the wind running in through the window, his fists clenched. At the right time...

He pretended like it hadn't stabbed him hard in the side, those words that Naruto had uttered.

They didn't understand, did they?

He had been fighting with himself for weeks, months, years. Would he ever kill Itachi? Would he ever find the happiness he had had before the massacre?

He kept telling himself no. _No._

They thought everything was back to normal, didn't they? Or was he assuming too much? These questions were biting him, burning him.

Itachi had ruined him. He had _killed_ a part of him.

A kunai flew out of his hands to hit the wall, cracking the once-proud symbol of the Uchiha clan.

It cracked immediately, and fell back onto his bed, running a hand through his hair.

---

Sakura walked back into her small apartment with a sigh. Sure, it was fun to be with Naruto...to see her friends...

After seeing Shikamaru and Chouji everything about that morning had gone downhill. What they had asked...

So, they had seen Ino? What was she like? Was she...okay? Was she...

All the things...

Naruto knew it was hurting her, deep inside. Sure, Ino and she hadn't been the closest of friends towards the end...but somewhere down the line, to see her there, that purity that she used to be, turned into a murderer...

She kept seeing that smirk. That smirk, the eyes closed, blood red staring back at her, outlining the blue that used to be so kind.

It was haunting her.

She had sat there in silence, and Naruto had told Shikamaru in a low voice that it wasn't the right time. No, he'd tell them later. No, they should ask Tenten or Lee. Lee's in the hospital? Tenten got out today? That's good. Is she any better? Yes? Alright. Well, we should go. Sakura-chan, are you ready? Alright. Bye, Shikamaru, Chouji.

The conversation burned her. It hurt even more that she used to do this around Naruto when Sasuke was gone. She knew that he was trying to give her time, and it made her too much aware of the situation.

If there was one thing she knew...

It was that Ino was going to come back.

Whether she liked it _or not_.

---

Naruto sighed and collapsed onto his bed, closing his eyes.

"Damn it, Shikamaru..." He muttered. "I thought you were smarter than that...bringing up something that's hurting Sakura-chan so much..." He said, running a hand through his hair.

He knew it was just like when Sasuke left. Some sort of girl bond, right?

Losing a best friend could be the worst thing in the world. He knew the feeling all too well.

Somehow, some way...Sakura was going to do anything to get her back.

And although he knew she had to, and he couldn't stop her without being a hypocrite, he couldn't let her get hurt.

No...Sakura-chan couldn't get hurt. Naruto sighed, fighting the worry out of his system. He had never been one to worry. Too late to start now.

---

Ino's eyes opened sometime later, and she threw herself up, ready just in case. She blinked, her head one massive jumble of thoughts and emotions. Red eyes stared at her from a corner of the room and she glared back. "Going to try to kill me again?" She snarled, letting her anger get the best of her.

There was that smirk again.

"You're too reckless." Was all he said, in a biting tone. She threw a smirk right back to him.

"Hey, I didn't make the first move." She said smoothly, staring down at her nails, feigning innocence. This brought a glower to his face.

"You asked for it." He said slowly. Ino almost laughed out loud. _Is he serious? He's out of witty responses. Maybe I have some sort of power over him. Ha._ She thought with glee.

"And you were oh-so-happy to oblige." She threw back.

"Are you going to string me along all day?" He asked, narrowing his eyes. Ino grinned.

"Only if I get a reaction." She whispered, getting up and stepping over to him. His body stiffened and she put her arms around his neck. She noticed how cold his skin was, how warm his breath...

In a second his body had flickered to the door. He glared at her.

"You're just doing this because you're lonely. Nothing else. It gets the best of me also. It's best to stop while you're ahead, _kunoichi_."

And there it was again, that anger. The door closed with a slam, and she widened her eyes.

He was open...and then he would shut off some part of him immediately. She closed her eyes.

Was it true...what he had said? Was she just lonely?

She shrugged it off with a shake of her head proudly. She was an S-class missingnin with enough power to out hundreds of shinobi at a time.

Of course she wasn't _lonely_.

---

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated enough!!! cries Lack of inspiration is a bitch.**


	8. Free

Loyalty

"Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice."

Woodrow Wilson

---

**Spoilers for the NEWEST manga chapters. Turn back if you don't want to be spoiled.**

---

Pein stared down at her with cold eyes. He blinked then threw a scroll to the ground. Ino looked at him, quizzled.

"Your mission documents. I assume that you've learned the technique I gave to you?" He said in a smooth voice.

There were two options here, Ino saw quickly.

1, she could tell the truth. And possibly be killed or hurt in some way. These were S-class missingnin.

2, she lies.

What's a criminal to do?

"Of course. Not like it was anything hard." She scoffed. She had gotten good at lying, one of the things that used to be one of her weaker points. Shikamaru said she always had a super fake smile when she lied. Sakura told her that her eyes glanced side to side. Chouji said she played with her hair.

She had conquered these small quirks easily and taught herself to believe her own lie.

The truth, in this case, was that Itachi refused to teach her the scroll. In fact, he hadn't talked to her in days. It seemed the mighty Uchiha was avoiding her. No matter. She didn't need his help. Sooner or later, she would figure out the jutsu herself.

What did she care if she shed a little blood doing it? No matter.

Ino headed for the roof, throwing the heavy door forward, it creaking loudly. Walking out slowly, she opened the scroll for the jutsu and held her breath. She needed a victim. This jutsu meant that anything she did wouldn't hurt her body. Or, she could kill her own body and steal the one she was in. She shuddered at the thought. Tilting her head to the sky, she spotted a bird. She made the Shintenshin seal, brought it up to her right eye, and cried out "Shintenshin no Jutsu: Complete Overpowering!"

In an instant, her body went numb, and her being flew into the sky and hit the bird. In seconds she opened her eyes, to find she was falling. Yelping, but only making the sound of a squawk, she flapped her wings. With a furious grin, she looped around the sky.

She wondered how many people had ever wished to fly in their lives. She was living their dream.

For a moment she forgot who she was, forgot where she was, and just soared above the brilliant skies. She couldn't feel the fatigue of using the normal Shintenshin, or the feeling of having to go back to her body before it was too late. All she could feel was the longing to stay like this forever.

She could. She could kill her body, leave it there, and live life as a bird.

Oh, wouldn't it be amazing? Looping around all day, carefree.

Now she understood why Shikamaru always had wanted to be with the clouds. They were magnificent up there. Suddenly, she heard something below, a curse or an angry cry. Looping down to get a better view, her bird-eyes widened.

There was Itachi, checking her pulse desperately.

"Shit, shit...what did you do?!" He asked in a desperate, cold voice. She had never seen him this furious.

This was when she realized that staying a bird, high in the skies, was unfair.

Normally Ino wasn't one to be concerned about what wasn't fair.

One mission, the man she had been sent to kill begged to live. "Please! I have a wife. Two sons." He had cried, tears coming to his eyes. "This wasn't my mission. I was a replacement. _It isn't fair to me_." He had pleaded on his knees for his life. She was disgusted.

"Life isn't fair." She had said, and slit his throat without wincing.

But now...

It wasn't fair to the bird. It was stupid, she knew, but wasn't becoming this creature giving up?

And if there was anyone Ino hated in the world, it was a quitter.

_Release_. She told herself, and in a second she blinked open her eyes, to see Itachi's eyes widen. In a second he was standing, coldness in his eyes once more, his solemn stature having returned.

"Baka." He said in a cold, furious voice.

"You didn't teach me the jutsu, therefore, I had to learn the basics on my own. Turns out it's not too hard." She said with a carefree smirk.

"It was banned in Konoha for a reason. It's forbidden." He added angrily, voice rising the slightest bit. "You'll die using it one day."

Ino laughed. "And you're worried about me?!" She asked, disbelieving. "I'm _flattered_, Itachi-kun. But I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself. I mean, I'm not an S-class missingnin for nothing, am I?" She asked, batting her eyelashes fakely. He looked at her in disgust.

"I've been briefed on our mission. We leave at dawn. Read your assignment and be ready when I am or I work alone." Was all he said, and he disappeared at once.

Ino bent down to pick up the scroll with the mission on it.

---

**Mission Summary:**

Stop a messenger bringing leads on the Akatsuki base and/or members from an Eastern spa resort from returning to their country (unknown). _Failure will not be accepted._

---

Ino blinked. She could see why her new jutsu was needed. She grinned eagerly. And it was the perfect place to use it.

---

Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto regarded Kakashi in silence. Then Sakura smirked, turning to her teammates. "This is it! Obviously Akatsuki is too clever to let them get away. They must be planning to intercept our messenger, or else he wouldn't send for an escort. This is our chance! If we capture an Akatsuki, they'll have to tell us about Ino. Remember Sasori, Naruto?" Sakura said, eagerly. Naruto nodded slowly.

"Kakash-sensei...you won't be with us, then?" Naruto asked unsurely. Kakashi smiled under his mask.

"You're all capable of being a three-man cell without a sensei now. I trust you, and I know you're powerful enough to do A-class missions such as this." Then he looked at Sakura. "I know how much you want this." He said with a slight nod.

Sakura felt her eyes moistened and nodded gratefully. "Thank you...Kakashi-sensei." She said quietly.

"Alright! Tomorrow at dawn we leave for our messenger's resort." Naruto said with a determined grin.

Sasuke just nodded coldly. Sakura had noticed he hadn't talked much lately. She had figured it was about his brother, but she knew not to bring it up. She couldn't bear to have him leave again.

_One step closer to you...Ino._

---

**A/N: Inspiration:D Sorry it's short xx As I said in my author's note, it'll be a bit before another. SORRY TT**


	9. Trap

Loyalty

"Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice."

Woodrow Wilson

---

**Spoilers for the NEWEST manga chapters. Turn back if you don't want to be spoiled.**

---

Ino woke up with a start, sweat dripping down her face. She was used to bad dreams, sure, but nothing like this.

No, no. Nothing like _this_.

"_Hello?" Ino called out into the dark. She was cold, shivering. Something was making her eyes sting, and she couldn't make out quite where she was. It was enclosed, she was sure. She heard a dripping noise and with a shock realized that blood was dripping from her neck onto the floor. She let out a small cry. _

_That was exactly when she realized how terrified she was._

_She did the first thing that came to mind—she screamed. Loud. She was naturally a loud person, so this wasn't hard. _

_Something hard clamped over her mouth and she blinked, the blood stinging her eyes once again. She thrashed around, struggled, now drowsily realizing she was tied up tightly, the rope (she assumed it...was...rope...) was wrapped way too tightly around her wrists, ankles, arms, and legs. _

_She did the next thing that came to mind—she cried. Furious tears escaped her mouth as she struggled, trying to speak but having only strange grunts coming out because of the thing clamped over her mouth. _

_Suddenly she heard breathing that was not her own, and it dawned on her that the thing on her mouth must be a hand. And she must be being held captive._

_And...she must be about to be tortured. Or killed. _

_...No! No! She was too...wait. Who __**was**__ she?!_

_She was in a war...something like that. A battle? Or was it really a war...but..._

_She continued to cry, and sobbed harder._

Where was she?! More tears escaped her eyes.

_What is this place?!_

"_You're in the Akatsuki compound." Came a voice, as the hand clamped hard over her mouth slowly moved off. She gasped for air and let out a few ragged coughs._

"_Akatsuki...what's that?!" She asked, crazed, eyes flashing. "Let me go, now!"_

"_I can't do that." Came the cold voice. _

"_You've captured me! Let me go back!"_

"_You don't even know who you are." The voice spat back at her. Suddenly, her vision cleared enough for her to see her captor. As she stared into crimson eyes that if in a better situation she would call beautiful, captivating...she was sucked into a different world._

_A red moon lay overhead. _

"_They left you to us. They hated you. You're a monster for your skills. We're your only hope for survival. We'll destroy them. We'll be __happy.__"_

"_Who..am I?" She asked, mind racing. The man, who she could now see clearly, smirked back at her._

_His sight took her breathless. Long black hair came down his back in a ponytail, and those red, amazing eyes stared her right in the face. Her heart almost skipped a beat._

_No, this is no time to get like this..! He's evil. He's captured me, and I'm attracted to him? I should be killed. _

"_Yamanaka Ino of Konoha. Interrogation. 17 years old. Highly skilled. Hated by your village. You were chosen by Akatsuki to help us reach our goal—of world peace. If we eliminate all who oppose us, a perfect world is easily made. We saved you from being killed. They were destroying the village to find and kill you."_

_Ino, was it?_

_She blinked, breathing fast._

"_No. No! I'm not...no!" She cried, and soon found herself back in the cold, dark, bloody room._

_The door closed, and she realized she was alone once again. She fell onto her side, the ropes chafing against her body. She cried and screamed until she fell into a difficult sleep._

---

Sweat dripped off her nose, and she threw off the one blanket she had on her mat.

Itachi's mat was across the room, and she saw his form and felt relieved. She almost laughed at this feeling. Being relieved by a clan murderer and S-class missingnin? What a world.

She crawled over to his mat, shaking. She stared over him, and tears fell down her face.

He shocked her by turning around too look her in the face, glaring.

"What." He asked coldly. She looked down at the ground, nails scraping the floor. Suddenly, she couldn't find the words she had wanted to say.

"...you don't sleep?" Her words came out as a pathetic croak. He continued to glare.

"Not much." He answered, and she realized he was being truthful with her. She was flattered in a strange way.

"Oh. I'm sorry." She said lamely.

"...you don't usually wake in the middle of the night." He said slowly, sitting up. Her face twisted up, and she tried to stop the tears from flowing.

"Three years ago..." She breathed. Then he caught her by surprise. A hand came up to her face. She felt a finger wipe the tears slowly from her face, and he lifted her chin and brought his face close to hers.

She felt herself lean forward on her knees to his face. Their faces were centimeters apart.

"I can help you forget." And she fell into the trap once again.

---

The next morning Sakura woke with a start, grabbing her already-packed bag and throwing on her skirt and shirt. She spent less than a minute putting on her headband and gloves and ran out the door.

Naruto and Sasuke were already outside her door, waiting. Naruto was grinning determinedly and it seemed like the sun was shining just on his smile, and she couldn't help but smile back. It was part of Naruto's gift, she supposed.

Sasuke looked up at the sky, deep in thought.

"Well, let's go, Sakura-chan...Sasuke." Naruto said, beginning to walk. Sakura nodded, and took off at a fast walk also. Sasuke lagged behind, a slight glare on his face.

"We can do this. We can find her." Sakura whispered to herself, staring up at the almost-light sky.

"...we would get there sooner at a run." Sasuke said finally. Sakura grinned, and turned to Naruto, who looked at Sasuke appreciatively.

"Sounds good to me!" He said, excited, and started at a run. Sakura followed, keeping a fast, easy pace. Sasuke finally came up beside them.

And for once, in 3 years, Sakura felt the team was truly whole again.

---

**A/N: YAY INSPIRATION! 3 I'll try to update more next week ;)**


	10. Accomplished

Loyalty

"Loyalty means nothing unless it has at its heart the absolute principle of self-sacrifice."

Woodrow Wilson

---

**Spoilers for the NEWEST manga chapters. Turn back if you don't want to be spoiled.**

---

Ino woke with a start to find herself across the room from her mat, and her heart began to beat rapidly. What had happened? She had...

Suddenly she realized that she was on somebody's chest. She fought the urge to scream, and turned to look at the person's face.

She gasped loudly to find that it was Itachi, his usually furious, cold face asleep. It almost made her want to cry, seeing his face as peaceful as it was now.

But last night...

Had she really...

She looked down to find only her Akatsuki cloak on.

_Her shirt and skirt that she wore underneath was gone_.

But...why couldn't she remember it?

In an almost angry groan, she rested her head back on her chest. Why is it always the most _important _things she forgets?! Last night must have been amazing.

She sighed again, closing her eyes. Suddenly, she heard the chest underneath her move slightly. She looked up slowly to see Itachi's eyes staring at her.

What was that she saw?

_Surprise?_

---

Sakura stopped suddenly, feeling Sasuke's arm stretched out in front of her, his right hand holding a finger in front of his mouth in a gesture for her to keep quiet. Below them was a messenger with a headband that clearly showed that he was from Konoha.

Naruto smirked silently. They all looked at each other. Naruto mouthed "on three." Sasuke and Sakura nodded, understanding.

One...

Two...

**Three.**

"Shintenshin no Jutsu: Complete Overpowering!" Ino's voice shot out, and her body fell limp, and Itachi caught it in a flash, setting it down gently. He then made a few hand signs and disappeared from view.

Naruto gasped. "Sakura-chan!" He cried, running to Sakura's body, that had fallen out of the tree and rolled onto the forest floor. Sasuke looked around wildly.

"She's here." He rasped, and quickly activated his Sharingan, waiting for an attack.

"Sakura-chan..!" Naruto said, holding Sakura's seemingly unconscious body.

"...Naruto..." Sakura's eyes opened slowly. A look of relief passed his face. He grinned lightly.

"You're okay." He smiled. Suddenly, something knocked him down. He coughed, the wind knocked out of him. He gasped for air, and Sakura pulled out a kunai, smirking.

"I thought you'd gotten smarter over the years, Naruto-baka. Guess I was wrong. You let your guard down." Sakura/Ino smiled devilishly. 

"Let go of Sakura-chan!" Naruto hissed, pushing her light frame off of him easily, throwing her away, her body hitting a tree. Suddenly, his eyes widened. Sakura/Ino got up easily, wiping a bit of blood from her lip.

"Now, now, Naruto-kun. You're just hurting Sakura. Oh, but you don't know, do you? _With my new jutsu my body doesn't get hurt if I get injured in another's body._"

Naruto gaped, fear easily set in his eyes.

"You mean..."

"Of course. _I could kill Sakura with just a flick of my wrist._" Sakura/Ino said, a sadistic look on her usually happy face. It was un-Sakuralike. It was...frightening. "But what a waste. I need to have a little fun first!" She cried, and threw a punch, chakra surging from it. It caught Naruto off guard yet again, and threw him to the ground, blood falling from his mouth. He wiped it off and made a hand sign.

_How do I fight this?! I can't hurt her..._ He thought desperately.

Meanwhile, Sasuke started away at a run. Naruto turned to him furiously. "You won't run after Itachi right now, Sasuke. We need to stay together and take care of Ino first." He said, his voice a solemn warning.

Sasuke turned around furiously. "Who are you to tell me what to do, dobe?!" His words bit into Naruto, and Naruto turned to him just as angrily.

"You can't leave just me to fight her! She's obviously S-class!"

"I thought you were the great Uzumaki Naruto who could do anything!"

_Wham_.

Naruto gaped, as he saw Sakura punch Sasuke square in the jaw. He gaped for a moment, and got back up, wiping blood from his face.

Sakura/Ino smirked.

"I've been wanting to do that for a very long time, Sasuke_-kun_."

Sasuke fumed, and, forgetting completely that Sakura would get hurt, got his Chidori ready. His pride had to be avenged.

"Sasuke!!!" Naruto screamed, and pushed Sasuke to the ground, the Chidori causing the ground to ripple madly. Trees flamed and fell to the ground, and the ground opened cracks that went a mile long. The two fell to the ground, Sasuke unconscious and Naruto furious.

"Baka." He whispered, getting up and helping his friend onto his shoulders. He took off, trying to get out of the dangerous area.

Meanwhile, Sakura/Ino smirked from atop the one standing treetop, watching them. 

"Release." She whispered, and returned back to her body. Sakura's body went limp and fell from the treetop, putting her unconscious.

Ino opened her eyes to see Itachi looking down at her motionlessly. She grinned, despite her suddenly aching head.

Beside her, a cold body dripped blood. A Konoha headband and messenger bag were beside it.

"Mission accomplished."

---

**A/N: Waaaaaaaaaaah! It's short TT Enjoy ;**


	11. Rain

Loyalty

---

Naruto opened his eyes to find himself in a hospital bed. What exactly had happened?

Wait...

Sakura-chan...

Sasuke... that bastard...

Suddenly, he noticed he wasn't alone. His eyes shifted to the window, where Sakura was opening the curtains so that the light would come in.

"Sakura-chan..."

The look on her face close to broke his heart. It was the same face she had when Sasuke left, but somehow... she looked years older than she was.

"Were you badly injured? Is Sasuke o—" He asked, trying at simple conversation but getting cut off by Sakura.

"We tried our best." Those words hurt even more. "She's become something we can't put ourselves up against... and my injuries were minor, Sasuke will be in the hospital for a few days—"

"You're going to give up?! It's not even about finding your friend anymore, Sakura-chan. She's directly hurt Konoha by killing our messenger. Technically, she's now become _wanted_."

Sakura let go of the curtains she was playing with mindlessly and turned around, pink hair whipping into her face, a fierce smile curving the corners of her lips up.

"Give up? No way. Haruno Sakura does not just _give up_. I'm just saying that we, the three of us... we can't do this alone, Naruto. We're going to need to bring in some... extra help."

---

Ino's eyes scanned the distance, dark circles lining her seemingly washed-out blue eyes that once held so much vibrance. What was she doing here? What were any of them doing here?

Pein had been telling them that they were fighting for world peace. What a stupid thing to fight for. It was all just a vain fantasy.

And what about Itachi? Was he lying when he said that the Shintenshin no Jutsu: Complete Overpowering was used on him? Or was he trying to trick her...

She'd been tricked too many times in her life. Her hands at her sides clenched into tight fists.

Scanning the industrial village below her, she wondered how much worth her life held to the Akatsuki. Why had they kept her all these years, saving her instead of killing her?

Was it because Pein... because _Itachi_ had a _heart_ under those smirks and cold, emotionless looks at her... or was it because her jutsu was powerful and if she was on their side, she couldn't hurt them?

Suddenly, she felt the presence of someone behind her. She flipped around.

There stood who was probably both her dream and her nightmare.

"What are you doing up here?" Came the emotionless, frank question. There was no kindness in his voice. But then again... had she ever seen him show kindness?

"Thinking. And you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. He was probably many inches taller than her, but she still had the nerve to look him straight in the eye.

He said nothing, as usual. She wasn't surprised. He didn't usually answer her. There were only a few times he offered a real answer, a true answer to her questions. She turned back to the scene below her, and he took a few steps so that he was by her side, a few feet apart, and stared out below as she did.

So there they stood, looking down at the dark village below them that made Ino feel suddenly very powerless and made her future look so very bleak.

A few drops of rain fell onto her face, and she tilted her head to the sky. Dark clouds shifted into view.

"I always hated the rain." Itachi stated, and Ino turned to look at him.

She decided it was a question not worth asking.

---

"You want to know more about the Shintenshin." Shikamaru said flatly. It was a few days later, and once the whole team was out of the hospital, Sakura told them they needed to talk to someone who was part of Ino's cell a few years ago. More specifically, the genius himself—Shikamaru.

He sighed, looking disdainfully at the food set in front of him. "You should know by now that food doesn't win me over like it does Chouji." He grimaced.

"Shikamaru, we absolutely need to know all that you know about Ino's jutsu! All of her clan is dead, meaning her mother and father. No siblings...she's the last one that uses it. And you and Chouji are the only people who know the real details, seeing as your parents only know about the basic form of the jutsu her father used. Ino's developed it so far that it's frightening. And besides, there's no use hiding it. We need to use everything we know about her fighting against her if there's any hope of getting her home." Sakura said firmly, almost choking on the word _home_.

"Yeah, yeah. I knew you'd come asking sooner or later." He looked over the faces of Team 7. Naruto looked eager, Sakura looked determined, and Sasuke truly looked indifferent. Shikamaru supposed he was only slightly interested because Ino was clearly working with his brother, Itachi. Go figure... some things never change.

"Tell me what happened... in detail, mind you... when you encountered Ino's jutsu." He started.

"Well... she used it on Sakura-chan." Naruto started, remembering what had happened that day.

"It's kind of fuzzy... things happened really fast. It's surprising she got a hold of me so easily..." Sakura admitted. Naruto nodded.

"So, she took a hold of Sakura-chan... and then it's like she could use all of Sakura's jutsus and attacks... the chakra punches, everything. Of course we couldn't attack Sakura-chan, and this is the part where it gets creepy." Naruto said, eyeing Shikamaru. "She said that she has this new jutsu where if we hurt... or even _killed_ Sakura-chan, her own body, hiding who-knows-where, wouldn't be hurt _at all_. If Sakura-chan were killed, she'd just transfer back to her own body, unscratched." He said, shuddering at the thought.

Shikamaru's eyes were wide open by this point. "She must have been fibbing. There's no way that all of that would work out so clearly to her advantage... she'd be _unstoppable_."

Naruto and Sakura nodded. Sasuke turned his head away, disbelieving. "Shikamaru's right. She couldn't be that powerful." He scoffed. Sakura looked unsure as well. Sasuke went on. "Remember the Chuunin exams? She didn't beat you, Sakura."

"But that's the other thing..." Sakura said, narrowing her eyes. "The Chuunin exams... she couldn't stay in my body. She came out within a few minutes, and she told me later I had some sort of creepy second will that pushed her out. An inner self, she said. But this time...she took complete hold of me. I could see everything that she was doing in my body, but I couldn't do a thing. What makes this time different, if it's the same Shintenshin?"

"Inoichi kept his jutsus very secretive. The only family that knows of it... the only family that holds the scrolls to the jutsus, are the Yamanaka. And as far as I know... every other jutsu Ino used wasn't a real advancement on the Shintenshin, just a different jutsu completely, so to speak. You see, the Shintenshin was always a terrible disadvantage. You saw it first hand in the fight years ago, Sakura." He said, looking at her now. "Remember? She had to use hair to trap you. It's hit or miss, and with this jutsu, it's usually miss. If you shoot it blindly, you're not going to get the person you want under the jutsu. That's why we were a good team. I could trap them with the Kagemane, and Ino could safely use the Shintenshin without missing. Then there's the other thing. The Shintenshin can only hold the object of the attack for a few minutes tops. There's no way that it's the _same form of the Shintenshin_ that captured Sakura, if what you say is true, and she was in Sakura's body for more than a short amount of time." Shikamaru said with a sigh. "Man, this whole thing is way too troublesome."

"Did you know if Inoichi ever developed new jutsus for himself, or even Ino?" Sakura asked, shrugging.

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "There was this one time... Ino had this whole deal about I had to walk her home after dark if practice got out late because her dad was always worried sick about her. I always thought she had some stupid crush on me." He said, waving it off. "I was wrong of course. She told me clearly when I voiced my thoughts that I should just drop dead... of course she was just appalled and she didn't mean it, she apologized later... but that she'd never be seen with a guy like me, that I was only like a brother to her. Same with Chouji." He snickered at the memory. "Anyways... we got to the door and her dad ushered us in, and invited me for dinner. I had to be polite, and he said he already asked my dad. I think Inoichi had this whole weird thing about how Ino and I, or even Chouji and her, should end up together so she wouldn't fall for one of the bad guys." He chuckled at this thought. "So we were sitting down and Inoichi had gone back to his study or wherever he worked on mission stuff, and I was asked to go call him in for dinner by Ino's mom. So I go back to his study, and he's on the ground signing some scrolls. I tried to tell him that it was dinner, but he was furious and told me to get out, that he was in the middle of something important and I didn't have permission to see a thing, something like that. Man, I'd never seen him that angry. He was usually a nice guy." Shikamaru shrugged and lay back in the booth.

"The scroll." Sasuke said, now sitting up, eyes studying Shikamaru. "Ino was after a scroll when she came to Konoha with Itachi." He almost snarled when he said his brother's name.

"But they didn't get it. They fled." Naruto said, waving it off. "So it was probably just a mission thing."

"Wrong." Sakura said, eyes wide. "Remember?! The day later, there was a break-in at Ino's house. They scanned the whole place, they said nothing was stolen, there was just a broken window. That it was probably some poor kids that heard no one lived there and didn't see anything worth taking. Man, how could we be so stupid?! We didn't think anything of it... someone came back for that scroll. It was obviously crucial..."

"You think..!" Naruto said, staring at her. Even Shikamaru and Sasuke looked surprised. Sakura stood up.

"All of you, come on. We've gotta get to Ino's. I can tell... there's something Ino's father was hiding!"

---

**A/N: I hope this one is a bit better than the last few chapters... I've been slacking off on this story, and I want to make it as believable/well-written as I can. ; Thanks for reading, next chapter will be out soon!**


	12. Discovery

Loyalty

---

Ino sat in the room she shared with Itachi in the corner on her mat. His form was, as always, turned away from her, and she could make out his back moving slowly up and down in the darkness from her corner. She assumed he wasn't sleeping, though. He never let down his guard, it seemed to her.

She rested her head against the wall. She had tried to sleep for what seemed like hours, but for some reason she just couldn't fall asleep. She shifted for about the fiftieth time that night, and finally Itachi turned furiously towards her corner, showing the usual anger he showed with her. _At least it's not that same emotionless, blank stare..._ She thought, her face contorting into a scowl.

"Why won't you just _sleep_?" Itachi murmured, his face shifting back into that usual emotionless mask. Her frown deepened.

"I could say the same for you, Itachi-san." She sneered.

"At least I'm not _moving every second._" He said in a low voice.

"Oh, gomen, Itachi-_sama_." She said sarcastically.

"_Hn._" He said, sounding a little angry, and turning back slowly.

She closed her eyes for the umpteenth time that night with a scowl, but immediately her whole body stiffened.

Her head felt like it was being pricked by hundreds of kunai.

She screamed and held her head, her howl almost inhuman. Itachi turned immediately and was at her side in an instant, but she didn't notice.

Sweating hard, she kept screaming as her mind raced.

Memories flooded her, but what disturbed her the most was that _they weren't hers._

They say your life flashes across your mind when you're in complete and utter anger.

How was she to know that _someone else's life_ crossed hers as the pain flooded her.

There she was fawning over Sasuke (what a surprise)...

There she was in the Forest of Death, and the worst part was that Ino could feel every punch to her head while she bit the Soundnin's arm...

And after a few other terrible memories that shook Ino to her core, she came to the Chuunin exam fight. She suddenly remembered the whole fight, and was shocked to find herself remembering small things about her past: that stupid ribbon, going to barbeque every day after practice... It was a strange feeling, reliving the fight in Sakura's point of view, too. She hated to admit it, but she was terribly weak as a Genin.

The pained stopped after what seemed like hours to Ino, but really was a matter of a few minutes. She fell to her hands and feet and sweat rolled into her eyes, which were wide open. She was shaking uncontrollably.

Her hand immediately went to her side. Damn, where was her kunai pack?!

_The pain will go away if you do it._ Her mind taunted her. _The pain will stop forever. You won't have to kill anymore. You'll be happier dead._

She took out a kunai in a flash and held it to her own throat.

Itachi, beside her, tackled her to the ground, pinning her down in a millisecond.

She shrieked and tried to thrash out of his hold.

"NO!" she screamed, tears now flowing down her face. "GET OFF OF ME! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I HATE YOU! I NEED TO—"

"Shut up!" He snarled, staring her straight in the face, and he activated his Sharingan swiftly. In a second, he had made her fall asleep, and her body went limp. He pushed himself off of her carefully and sat next to her, staring into the darkness.

He turned back to her. Even in the Sharingan-induced sleep, tears continued to flow down her face. Her body lay broken on the ground, and suddenly his chest hurt. His hand flew to the left side of his chest, and he narrowed his eyes. _I don't care, _he told himself, but he wasn't stupid. He knew it wasn't true.

---

Sakura sighed, throwing a small glass pig into the wall in her anger. It shattered into a million pieces and Naruto sighed, closing his eyes. Angry tears flowed down Sakura's face, and, in shock at what she had done, her hands flew to her face.

"We've been here for hours, Sakura. I think it'd be best if we just—"

"What, went home?! Did anyone tell you that when you were looking for Sasuke?!" She snarled, green eyes flaming. He blinked at her angry outburst, and turned away from her. Suddenly realizing she struck a chord within the blonde boy, she sighed, tears still falling.

"I didn't mean it, Naruto..." She sobbed. "I just can't give up..."

Sasuke turned away, shame obviously clouding his face. He knew he shouldn't break into this conversation.

Shikamaru sighed. "Geez, you'd need a Byakugan just to see through the fifteen layers of dust." He said, wiping a finger across the furniture and grimacing. Sakura turned to him, gaping.

"Shikamaru! You're a _genius_!" She exclaimed, hugging him suddenly. Naruto gave Sakura a jokingly sad look.

"Sakura-chaaaaan!" He wailed, then laughed.

Shikamaru smirked. "Man, I've been told that _way_ too many times."

"Naruto! We gotta go to the Hyuuga Complex." Sakura said firmly. Naruto frowned.

"Isn't it kinda late? I don't want Neji to get pissed--"

"This is important!" Sakura cried, and he couldn't refuse the desperate look in her eyes.

"Alright, I'll get Hinata or Neji to come take a look at this place." It was quiet for a long time, until suddenly Sakura heard someone take in a sharp breath. She turned to see Sasuke looking at her.

"Is something wrong, Sasuke-kun?" She asked, blinking.

"Sakura... I know this is important to you... but have you ever thought that maybe Ino doesn't _want_ to come back? I mean, I know we have to take care of Akatsuki, but maybe she has nothing to live for here. I was a different case, I suppose--I really did want to come back. I had you two to live for, along with my clan's history being here. But Ino--Ino has lost everything. Don't you think maybe she just wants to start over? If she wanted to be saved, then--"

"No!" Sakura cried, staring at him like she'd been betrayed by him a second time. "I can understand hearing this from everyone else, but _you_, Sasuke-kun..." Her voice went horribly low and become very quiet. "I thought you of all people would understand... how _important_ a friend to me she is... she needs us!"

Sasuke sighed. "I know... it's just..."

"_Naruto, did you really have to wake up half of the main branch as well as just me?! I'm going to be in over my head fixing this tomorrow, so whatever the problem is, it better be important._" Neji hissed, narrowing his eyes. Behind him was a very tired looking Hinata.

Naruto chuckled nervously and backed away slowly. "Gomen, gomen... Anyways, we need you guys to look for anything out of the ordinary in this room." Naruto said, waving his arm around the now torn-apart study.

Neji sighed, closing his eyes. He opened them quickly. "Byakugan!" Hinata activated her Byakugan.

They scanned the room and Sakura, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sasuke watched them work in anticipation. Suddenly Hinata gasped. They all turned to stare at her.

"Neji-nii-san..." She whispered, eyes wide, pointing a shaky finger to the left of all of them. He turned to look and his eyes widened.

"Well, we found your 'out of the ordinary'..."

**A/N: Ahhh I know, cliffhanger. Sorry! XD I'll update this weekend. Thanks for reading!**


	13. Comfort

Loyalty

Loyalty

**Sorry for taking so long to update! I've been really, really busy. I'll try to write faster. Thanks for all the kind reviews!**

**Also, there's SasuIno in this if you squint, but it won't change anything. The main pairing is and will always be ItaIno.**

**Thanks! **

**--**

Sakura sent a chakra punch to the spot that Hinata had pointed out, causing the wall to cave in, pieces of it flying out. They all blinked, and Sasuke made a strangled sound.

There was a large chest with the Uchiha fan symbol adorning the top. "What the _hell_?!" He snarled, running at it, and trying to open it. He turned around furiously to Hinata and Neji.

"Well, what's in it?! This is property of my family. What did they steal from us!?" He snarled. Hinata shook slightly and blinked.

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura said quietly. She turned to Neji.

"Is it safe to open? Or is there some kind of weird jutsu on it we should know about?" She asked. He shook his head.

"It's not what you think. It is out of the ordinary...but not...particularly bad. There seem to be...marriage papers in it." He shook his head. "Man, this just keeps getting weirder. Sakura, did Ino ever tell you she was promised to the oldest living Uchiha at the time she was to be married?"

All of them gaped, especially Sakura. "What?!" She said, taking a kunai and furiously cutting away at the box. Moments later, she got it open. She took out an old, decrepit paper, and began to read aloud.

_This paper is proof the arrangement of marriage of Yamanaka Ino and Uchiha Itachi once Yamanaka Ino is of age. If misfortune befalls Uchiha Itachi and he is incapable of marrying Yamanaka Ino, the arrangement will fall upon Uchiha Sasuke's shoulders. _

_This marriage will ensure a strong Uchiha generation as the Yamanaka clan is in danger of dying out, along with its family jutsu, the Shintenshin. As the Shintenshin's powers have not been completely discovered, this arrangement will ensure that it will only be able to grow stronger, especially with the skills that the Sharingan can add to it._

_Signed, _

_Yamanaka Inoichi_

_Uchiha Fugaku_

Sasuke seemed to have a distant look on his face while the others just stared on in disbelief.

"Itachi and...Ino?!" Naruto said, eyes widening. "Did she know?! Did _he_ know?!"

"So that's why Yamanaka-san always came to the compound with her..." Sasuke muttered, eyes slightly glazed over. "She was going to be...he was going to..._I was included in this_..."

"I don't think she knew." Sakura said firmly, shaking her head. "She would have bragged. I mean, really, I'm sure before Itachi..." she stole a glance at Sasuke, who glared back, "...did that, he was pretty...normal? I mean...she did have a thing for you Sasuke, maybe she once liked Itachi."

Sasuke shook his head. "Whenever she came over...she never gave him a second glance."

**Flashback**

_Sasuke, younger, looked at Ino, who was hiding behind her father and blushing, with interest. He nudged his mom. "Why does Ino-chan come over so often?" He whispered. His mother just smiled a little sadly._

"Ino-chan's father is friends with your father. They...discuss things here." She said, smiling at her younger son and ruffling his hair. He smiled. "Ah..."

_Itachi looked at the smaller girl coldly. His father frowned. "Aren't you going to say hello to Ino-chan?" His father prodded him. Itachi put on a rare smile and bent down to meet the girl's eyes._

"_Hello, Ino-chan." He said, putting a hand on her head. She looked at him, blushed, and looked back at Sasuke. _

"_Hello...Itachi-san...Sasuke-kun."_

**End of flashback**

He frowned. "Seeing as both Itachi and I left...her father must have been very angry. Seeing as things did turn out like he had dreaded--Ino the last Yamanaka alive, and for how long now?--it seems that even this arrangement means nothing in the end."

Sakura's eyes took on a painful look. "We fought for nothing...it's kind of ironic, isn't it?! She would have won no matter what I did." She said, turning away in silent fury. "We could've turned our time fighting into time spent having fun, being _friends_. She would have ended up with Sasuke-kun anyways."

Sasuke's eyes took on a sad look. "After the massacre, she was only kind to me. And I...I pushed her off, told her she was a nuisance. If I had known she was going to be part of the..." he closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He looked at Sakura with a rare determined look in his eye. She saw guilt flash through them visibly. "We'll do all that we can to save her...right?"

--

Ino woke up hours later, and shivered. She was on the ground, a blanket around her that she hadn't had before. She turned her head drowsily to the side, where she saw Itachi sitting. She couldn't help but let relief cause her to smile, even if it was very small.

"Hey." She muttered, her voice soft. "...thanks for the blanket."

"You're welcome." He said, surprising her. It wasn't his usual 'hn' or '...'.

"I...I remembered things." She began to speak into the dark, but she saw him twitch noticeably. "Like when Sakura and I were small...and how we became rivals...and then our fight...and becoming friends again..." She said softly. "But I can't piece the rest together. It's like there's a picture, but spots are blacked out or erased, and you can't tell what the whole thing is because of it. And it drives me crazy, because I would do anything to just see it, remember everything about myself--"

"None of that matters."

"Oh, but of course! You probably want to forget how you massacred your whole family, your own blood--"

"I told you I didn't do that!" He turned around, fury burning in his crimson, Sharingan-activated eyes. She was shocked to see him show such emotion. Tears formed in her eyes and she turned away.

"I'm sorry." She said, her voice much softer than before.

"Hn." He said, turning around once more.

"It's just that...most of my best memories were from my childhood. I only have a few...ones where I'm with Sakura. But I know there's more. Much better ones. Surely you wish to keep the secrets from when you were young as well?!" She cried, tears falling freely by now.

Itachi closed his eyes.

**Flashback**

"_I'm what?!" Itachi said, slight anger in his eyes, but still keeping his stoic composure around his father._

_  
"This marriage arrangement will benefit both our clans for future generations to come. Everyone knows that once Yamanaka Ino is older, she will have power beyond what many of us can imagine. If the Shintenshin is passed down to the next generation of Uchiha, just think of the power we can have!"_

"_Power? You're arranging a girl's life for her for power?" Itachi asked coldly, eyes boring into his father's. His father looked back at him sternly._

"_She's not an unkind girl. In time, she'll even grow into quite a beauty as well. Maybe, by then, you can love her as well. You'll do this for the clan, correct, Itachi?" He said firmly, like it was more of a statement than a question. Itachi bowed his head, but pain flashed across his eyes. He had seen the way the girl looked at Sasuke and never stole him a second glance. He was much older than her, why should she have any interest in him? He could just see it--ten years from then, they would be married, and all she would find happiness in was seeing Sasuke while living in the Uchiha household. He had never really had any intention of getting married; He was too busy slowly becoming one of Konoha's best ninja to date. He didn't hate the girl, of course--Ino, was it? In fact, he found some sort of joy in seeing her smile whenever she came to their compound. But this was a smile only for Sasuke, a smile that would never be for him, even if they were to be married._

_  
"Hai."_

**End Flashback**

"Hey, what's with that face?" Ino said, wiping some tears away from her face, staring at him sincerely. He noticed he had turned to look at her sometime in between his reminiscing. "Why are you looking at me like that?! Hey!" She snapped, but he drowned her out.

His father had been right, he thought with an inward bitter laugh. Even with her dark red eyeliner and her hair cut unevenly in a tangled ponytail, she was beautiful. He couldn't deny that fact. Well, it sure had turned out differently than he had thought it would. Somehow, fate had pulled them together in the end. It almost made him laugh at loud.

"W-what's this!" She cried. Somehow, he had moved closer to her, and was now moving her blonde bang away from her face. She then remembered how he'd already _seen her naked_, seeing as they had...

She could feel her face redden even more than it already was.

Suddenly, his lips were on hers. Her eyes closed, but she didn't pull away. Somehow, it felt _right_ to her, even though she knew that the last thing she needed was to become attached to him. They could die any day, any second--

He pulled away and stared into her eyes. Tears came back to her eyes. He pulled her to him and she found herself crying on his shoulder.

"I believe you. About the massacre...not being your fault." She whispered, and for some reason, relief seemed to pour into him.

She remained like that for hours--being held and comforted, in his own way, by Uchiha Itachi.

**A/N: I'll try to write the next one in a few days! Then the story will finally progress! Hooray!**


End file.
